"In 1907 a woman from the town of Balincaguin in Pangasinán came to my office and stated that she, about six years before had 'mortgaged' [the terms 'salda' in Ilocano and 'sanla' in Pangasinán are usually translated mortgage, but also imply pledge, as the creditor generally takes possession of the mortgaged property] her twelve-year old son for some twenty pesos to Don Cirilio Braganza, the member of the second Philippine legislature for the district in which I was then living; that her son had been working for Braganza ever since, and that, according to her reckoning, the debt had already been paid, but that Braganza had unjustly charged the loss of a carabao to her son's account, thus adding P120, if I remember correctly, to the debt. She further stated that she had asked Braganza to release the boy, but that he refused to do so. I informed her of the provisions of the Philippine Bill in regard to involuntary servitude, and advised her that her son was free to leave Mr. Braganza's services if he so desired. She said that if the boy should leave, she was afraid something might happen to him as Braganza was very influential in that locality. I then gave her a note for Braganza requesting him to let the boy go. Shortly afterwards Braganza came to me and gave me his version of the case, stating that he had always treated the boy well, and that the loss of the carabao was entirely due to the boy's negligence, and that he, Braganza, would not consent to the boy's leaving him before the carabao was paid for. At last reports the boy was still with Braganza and may be there yet. I may add that I believe Braganza told the truth, and that the boy was guilty of negligence in connection with the loss of the carabao." The net result in this case was that a boy was "mortgaged" for a P20 debt and after six years the debt had very largely increased, probably in part as a result of the carelessness of the boy. In a letter to Judge Ostrand I had defined peonage as "the condition of a debtor held by his creditor in a form of qualified servitude to work out a debt." Of its prevalence the judge says:-- "While practising law in the Province of Pangasinán, during the years 1905 to 1909, hardly a week passed but what cases of involuntary servitude, as defined in the within communication, came under my observation." He also calls attention to the fact that interference with the system does not increase one's popularity:--